The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has urgently approved the use of the COVID-19 eating treatment “Lagebrio Capsule (component name Molufiravir)” developed by the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Company (MSD).
On the 23rd, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, “With the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 confirmed patients, the need for alternative treatments for high-risk mild and severe patients has been raised,” adding, “As a result of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said.
Ragebrio, the second food treatment introduced in Korea, is administered to adult patients with mild and severe COVID-19, who are at high risk of developing severe symptoms. It is planned to be used only for patients who are not appropriate to use Pfizer’s Pax Robide, an injection-type treatment or an existing eating treatment. It cannot be used for pregnant women and children and adolescent patients under the age of 18.
Each capsule contains 200mg of molnupiravir, so it is taken twice a day, four capsules every 12 hours, for a total of five days. It is recommended to store it at room temperature, be diagnosed positive for COVID-19, and administer it as soon as possible after symptoms develop.
Earlier, the government decided to bring in 242,000 people of Molufiravir from MSD and completed the pre-purchase contract.
On November 17 last year, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which conducted an emergency approval review of the drug, received advice from experts and suggested that some of the target patients be restricted.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has established a system to actively collect and report domestic and foreign safety information to MSD, a domestic importer, and to allow drug experts and patients to report side effects over the phone or online. In the event of serious side effect damage, the government plans to evaluate the causality and compensate it.
Meanwhile, the government announced on the 24th that 44,000 more Pax Robide, Pfizer’s eating treatment, will be introduced in Korea. 1,041,000 Pfizer vaccines will also be introduced on the same day.